With its simple, declarative text and lively illustrations, this is an ideal story for transportation-themed storytimes or...
An adventurous bedtime story is filled with imagination and a child’s keen excitement in vehicular transportation.
With his first lines—“A bed. A boy. His daddy”—Reynolds creates the atmosphere, setting, and characters who are going to set free their imaginations and provide ample opportunity to showcase a particular dynamic of father-son relations. The father is ready to tuck his son into bed and asks him, “Bedtime?”—to which the son replies excitedly, “Not yet!” They soon start to re-create scenes with the boy’s toys, bed, and different objects located in his bedroom. From a train station where the boy is the conductor to a space shuttle where he is an astronaut, young readers will be engaged in learning about transportation and those responsible for operating different types of vehicles. It surely will inspire children to explore their own imaginations and re-create the assorted scenarios. Yamada’s digital illustrations amplify the creativity of this duo, offering detailed images of the child’s bedroom as it becomes a sort of infinite and diverse playground. The pair are both Caucasian, the son’s eyes bright blue and oversized, almost manga-style.
With its simple, declarative text and lively illustrations, this is an ideal story for transportation-themed storytimes or for launching kids to bedtime...maybe later rather than sooner. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-77855-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers will be charmed as Harold draws himself in and out of trouble and finally home to bed in this subtle blend of...
Harold takes a walk in the moonlight down the path of imagination and although this time the bunnies hop and the winds blow, nothing of the dreamy simplicity of the journey is lost.
Elegantly adapted by Trilogy Studios to the iPad and featuring the same minimalist lines of Johnson's 1955 original, this app allows children to join in as Harold wields his purple crayon to create his gently perilous adventure. Along the way, the many hidden interactions allow readers to animate the scenes, shaking apples from the tree and making the guard dragon catch them in his mouth. Kids can fill the moonlit sky with stars and zoom in on hatchling birds in the mountains; they can cause a swirling wind to fill the sails of Harold's boat and help him sample all nine flavors of pie. All the while, it maintains the flavor of a simple line-drawn story. When touched, most objects and characters are identified both verbally and in text to add an extra level of learning for early readers. Options include Read to Me, in which each word appears as it is spoken by the narrator; Touch Tale, a fully interactive version prefaced with a clear tutorial; and Read to Myself. All modes are accompanied by tinkly music.
Readers will be charmed as Harold draws himself in and out of trouble and finally home to bed in this subtle blend of animation and story. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)Pub Date: July 30, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Trill Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
Though slight, this story has compensatory interactive components and characters that are time-tested kid-pleasers.
Poor Mark the shark can’t make any friends because all the other fish are frightened of his teeth.
When a crab pinches Mark’s tail, Mark gets angry and yells for all the fish to come out: “If you won’t be my friends, then you’ll be my dinner!” At this, a concerned octopus reaches out to Mark, accidentally tickling him and making him laugh. When the other fish hear the shark laugh, they realize he’s not actually scary after all, and suddenly, Mark has lots of fishy friends. Each double-page spread has a slider, allowing readers to move the shark’s teeth up and down by pulling a tab, making him cry, chomp, and laugh. Companion volume Dino Chomp, also featuring big biting teeth operated by sliders, tells the story of a T. Rex tricked out of his dinner. Both titles suffer from flimsy plots and generic art, depending on the interactivity of the moving mouths to draw kids in. Considering how satisfying it is to make those teeth go chomp, chomp, chomp, though, it may be enough.
Though slight, this story has compensatory interactive components and characters that are time-tested kid-pleasers. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: June 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0107-1
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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